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Hi all, I have treated my share of dogs and removed them from myself many times. The salivary glands, containing toxins, run the length of the body which is why you should grab or pry from the head when pulling them off. When I have them on me I will just pull them off with whatever is handy being sure not to squeeze the body. If i happen to rip the head off I just go digging, but this is pretty rare if you have a good grip on the head. They make little picks to pry them out with if that's your thing.

I would add that in areas with lots of ticks, I am sure I have seen every conceivable potion to repel them (since commercial products for dogs are very expensive and people are much more open to "natural"remedies). Of these (the most common seeming to be blends of one or more of the following:eucalyptus, tea tree, lavender oil and of course apple cider viniger), if any work at all - they don't work well and many of my clients have dropped a paralysed dog on my table smelling like a massage parlour.

Permethrin works really well to kill them in situ but has no real lasting effect if you use it as a preventive. I got 50-100 ticks of my little dog by dunking her in permethrin wash following a trip to the coast and would routinely do this to any dog I saw with a tick on it (after I pulled it off)I don't know if they make such a product for people. Best bet is searching all of your little nooks and crevices regularly. I would not offer medical advice to people as I'm not a doctor but in terms of how I treat myself, sometimes simple solutions are the best and you won't see me mucking about with freezing/burning/poisoning etc

Agree on the need for the good and 'expensive ' treatments .
( could never understand the rediculous prices for the tiny tinctures)

If any one was interested , there's a lions club bloke making it from identical ingredients , I'm aware they're been sold at the hay and grain store in malanda qld . cheaply.
I stock up when I'm passing through.
Sorry can't provide lions club guys number.

Seems to work as I don't see fleas ,
Although I pull ticks off dog regardless not letting them a Chance to find out if they'd hurt the dog first.

If you were going to use a tweezer, I think a lot would depend on the type of tweezer you are going to use. I would avoid a 'flat nose' type of plier tweezers, which would grip more on one side of the insect than the other. But instead use flat square type tweezer that has a convex curve out from the tip.

Here is the link for the guy making flea and tick treatments for dogs selling up here with comparable ingredients and cheaper prices than the big guys .
I will be getting in contact to try stock up again soon myself.

Confidor available from The Big Green Store contains Imidacloprid. Neighbour with 22 Grayhounds makes similar homebrew to the guy up north. Confidor is available in litre size bottles and is way, way cheaper than the commercial tick treatments. Not trying to take business away from the guy up north and confirming that the homebrew product is likely to be as effective as the commercial products.

I often spray the neighbour's home brew product on my gaiters before going into some local areas know to be tick infested. Two horse new to the area died recently from tick infestation; more that 60 ticks were taken off both horses.

If you were going to use a tweezer, I think a lot would depend on the type of tweezer you are going to use. I would avoid a 'flat nose' type of plier tweezers, which would grip more on one side of the insect than the other. But instead use flat square type tweezer that has a convex curve out from the tip.

Sounds like prevention is the best solution ... they recommend spraying your clothes (and skin) with an insect repellent. You could try natural insect repellent formulas to find out what does and doesn't work (i.e. might work on mozzies, flies but not ticks).

The freeze sprays sound like a good concept, be interesting to see if they work (mainly get bush ticks over in WA). I've tended to previously use the method of getting my thumb down ahead of their head and push the skin towards them, this usually pushes them out a bit and allows for someone else to pull them out with needle nosed tweezers easier.

Sounds like prevention is the best solution ... they recommend spraying your clothes (and skin) with an insect repellent. You could try natural insect repellent formulas to find out what does and doesn't work (i.e. might work on mozzies, flies but not ticks).

The freeze sprays sound like a good concept, be interesting to see if they work (mainly get bush ticks over in WA). I've tended to previously use the method of getting my thumb down ahead of their head and push the skin towards them, this usually pushes them out a bit and allows for someone else to pull them out with needle nosed tweezers easier.

Interesting, thanks for sharing. I have not experienced any problems with ticks here in New England, but I did in the Territory & Queensland. But I always carry a basic medical kit with me which includes two types of tweezers.
Keith.Medical Kit Update 002.jpgMedical Kit new 2 Tweezers only.jpg
I have not seen any modern tweezers with a tip like these.

Last edited by Le Loup; 05-08-17 at 11:32 AM.
Reason: Adding images

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference".
Robert Frost